The cooks cited "a hostile work environment, mismanagement by restaurant's current experienced owners, and quality standards he does not want to be associated with," according to the statement.

However, Seasalt's fare was poorly review by New Times despite drawing a flood of crowds and celebrities. Alvarez's departure may mean an overhaul for the gorgeous riverside restaurant's menu, though the statement said "Seasalt and Pepper has been running their Kitchen with no experienced chef since last week."

Zachary Fagenson entered the professional food world at 5:30 a.m. some time in the mid-1990s. He was 12. The place was called Bagel Boys. It was your archetypal suburban New York spot where he would help boil the day’s bagels (something like 2,000) before several hours of slicing and shmearing. Jobs in restaurants waiting tables, running food, and working kitchen prep filled the following dozen years. Zach attended the George Washington University before graduating from the University of South Florida in 2008. He became the New Times Broward-Palm Beach restaurant critic in 2012 before taking up the post for Miami in 2014. He has a penchant for Asian cuisine and its marriage of savory, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. That blessed union can be found in Central American cuisine. When he’s not stiffening his arteries for South Florida’s greater good — and rest assured, food can be a powerful force in a city’s development — he works as a correspondent for Reuters, Politico, and Agence France-Presse.